Moth and the Flame, The

DESCRIPTION: Two old sweethearts meet. He says he still loves her; she says she is to be married to another. He tells the fable of the Moth and the Flame to reveal her lover is already married. At the wedding, the fiance kills his wife. The girl turns to her old love
AUTHOR: Words: George Taggart/Music: Max S. Witt
EARLIEST DATE: 1899 (sheet music by Jos. W. Stern & Co.)
KEYWORDS: love separation homicide wedding adultery
FOUND IN: US(So)
REFERENCES (4 citations):
Randolph 818, "The Moth and the Flame" (1 text)
Spaeth-ReadEmAndWeep, pp. 156-158, "The Moth and the Flame" (1 text, 1 tune)
Geller-FamousSongsAndTheirStories, pp. 155-160, "The Moth and the Flame" (1 text, 1 tune)
ADDITIONAL: Robert A. Fremont, editor, _Favorite Songs of the Nineties_, Dover Publications, 1973, pp. 199-202, "The Moth and the Flame" (1 text, 1 tune, the 1899 sheet music)
Roud #7433
NOTES [34 words]: Should be an opera. - PJS
It comes close. It's based loosely on an 1898 play by Clyde Fitch with the same title. Taggart wrote the words after seeing the play, then sought someone to write the music. - RBW
Last updated in version 3.2
File: R818

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